Warmth
by Blade of Justice
Summary: After being called by Blanc to Lowee for a romantic winter getaway, Vert somehow finds herself stuck in the Basilicom during a blizzard with the only the twins for company. One would think this would still be a great time for Vert, but for some strange reason, the twins don't seem too keen on letting their sister's girlfriend have a comfortable stay...
1. A Possessed Prologue

Blanc wondered for what seemed like the umpteenth time today if she had been possessed.

It wasn't that unusual a thought, given the circumstances. Possession seemed like a fairly logical explanation for the predicament that Lowee's goddess currently found herself in. Two years ago, she wouldn't have been caught dead doing what she was doing right now; today, however, now only was she doing it, but she was doing it of her own willing at that. A year ago there had been a lot going on in Blanc's life, a lot that incidentally led directly to the predicament that Blanc now found herself in, but she still wouldn't have been doing _this_ of all things... She wouldn't have been braving the worst blizzard of the year to go _shopping_.

She _hated_ shopping, and outside of the rare convention or two, before now, there had never been anything she wanted enough that she couldn't order online, especially during this time of year. She _hated _leaving the Basilicom during this time of year for _any_ reason, even to get necessitates like food and video games, so to be outside alone, for anything at all, was something of a feat in and of itself with such terrible weather to be dealing with. But to be braving the cold for _shopping_ of all things? _Shopping_?

She had to be possessed. Indeed, there was simply no other possibility.

As for the matter of _what_ was possessing her, however...

She was fairly certain she knew what it was. It wasn't anything like a ghost or a monster or even a status ailment. No, those things would be easy. What was possessing was Blanc was much more vile, much more evil, much more _dangerous_. In fact, Blanc was close to positive that she knew _exactly_ what was possessing her right now. She had to, after all, for she had come to brave this storm of her own volition. One could say she was being willingly possessed. One could say, in a masochistic sort of way, she was _enjoying_ her possession, though that person would soon meet the hard end of her hammer...

But by what?

What was possessing Blanc?

What was it that such a strong hold over her?

It was that blonde _demon_ from Leanbox that was currently residing in Blanc's own Basilicom. It was all _her_ fault that Blanc was freezing her butt off trying to get a good present for their first anniversary. She'd never cared about anything like this before, but now here she was, looking through each store like a totally deranged sap. Since when did she need to see things in person to know whether or not they were "just right" or not? When did she even start to _care_ about stuff like that?

That _demon_ had cast a spell on her. It was the only explanation.

It had to be.

Why else would she have sent Mina away a few days ago and invited that _temptress_ over, knowing full well that the weather would likely trap them all together until it blew over? Why else would she have specifically planned a situation that involved her and Vert being stuck together? She had doomed herself, all as a result of that she-devil's possession. There was no other explanation!

A sigh.

"I really hate myself right now."

... Still...

Despite the bitter cold, the warmth that spread throughout her body picturing how Vert would look when she got the perfect present from her was more than enough heat to keep Blanc going.

"Maybe the next store will be the one..."


	2. Chilly Chapter 1

Vert had never been this cold before in her life.

"Come over, she says... We'll read a book together by the fireplace, she says... I have some hot chocolate _just for the two of us_, she says...!" The blonde goddess rubbed her arms as she held herself, teeth starting to chatter along with the bits of hail smashing against the guest room window she found herself in. "Thank you _ever_ so much for leaving out the part that this is the coldest week of the year here in Lowee, Blanc...! My, and I can't forget to thank you for leaving on important business moments after I arrive...! Thank you so, _so_ much for that, Blanc...!"

The CPU's numerous complaints went without any response. It was natural for this to happen, of course.

She was alone. There was no one here to hear them.

She had flown out to Lowee under the pretense of a romantic winter getaway (that she had mostly supplied herself on the giddy flight over), left her games and her sunny nation of Leanbox behind, and she'd been _dumped_!

"It's not _fair_..."

She knew deep down she was acting selfish. Her words were being spoken not by herself, but by her freezing, _freezing_ body — and the lack of Blanc's to snuggle with under the covers to hide from the cold.

The situation was not one anyone could have planned for. She couldn't blame Blanc for it, certainly not. Blanc's Oracle was on holiday for the next two weeks for some strange reason (Blanc had gotten very angry when Vert tried to push the subject, leading Vert to assume there must have been something of a fight between the two). With the weather as it was and business needing to be taken care of, it was just unfortunate, or perhaps very fortunate, happenstance that Vert had been there at just the right time to provide Blanc's younger sisters with an alternate caretaker while their normal one was away and while their sister left to take care of whatever she needed to do.

It was just... The thing was...

"It's so _cold_...!"

She had _never_ experienced a blizzard like this before! Even inside, even wrapped up in these blankets on a cozy guest room bed, it simply had no _right_ being this cold! Even if it did, at least if Blanc were here, then this would have been the perfect time to throw up some "come warm me with your body" flags for her girlfriend to snatch up, but said girlfriend _had left her alone_!

Pouting and freezing, the CPU hugged herself tighter, regretting that she had left the warm bath so quickly. She had done so with good reason, of course. She had already taken _three_ baths tonight — first her own, then a second when she realized the twins typically bathed with someone else, and a third after Ram had accidentally sprayed her with that sticky soap just after she'd finished drying off. At least it had been nice and warm and steamy in there, though...

"My goodness, I'm not seriously considering a fourth one, am I?" The blonde goddess pursed her lips at the thought. She didn't very well want the object of her affections to return home and find Vert a shriveled up prune, now did she? Some sacrifices had to be made. As she considered this, her frown deepened as a more serious thought struck her. "Are those two really used to this weather...? I know Blanc and Mina always keep them bundled up, but this calls for more than some coats, doesn't it...? Maybe I should... Ohhh, brrrr...!"

What felt like a fresh breeze somehow penetrating the walls and going right into her bones prevented her thoughts from progressing much further than that — for the moment, at least.

"Blaaaaanc...! Come baaaaaack...!"

As she let out this quiet wail, unbeknownst to Vert, two pairs of eyes were watching her every move from the crack in the guest room doorway. With the blonde diving under the covers, one of the two pint-sized peepers found a sense of guilt filling her inside, and she couldn't help but step away from their viewpoint. She held her hands together, bundled in the sleeves of an oversized sweater, and waited for her companion to join her.

"Rom? What's wrong? She might start crying soon, don't you wanna see that?" Her sister having left their makeshift watch post, Ram had no choice but to move away from the doorway to follow her twin back into the hall. Her crossed her arms, frowning as she noticed the lack of a smile on Rom's face. Something had to be wrong. "Come ooonnnn, what's going on? You're gonna miss it."

"We should help her... Why can't we turn the heat back on, Ram...?" Rom glanced towards the doorway again. She could no longer see the goddess inside, nor hear her moans and groans, but she doubted that Vert would have magically warmed up once they stopped looking. Considering Ram had convinced her to turn off the heat in this part of the Basilicom, she _had_ to be freezing... "She looks so cold..."

"No, we can't! She has to freeze!" Despite the fact that it was Rom asking, the person most likely to get Ram to do anything, the CPU Candidate stomped her foot lightly, clearly not willing to budge on this. Unlike other times when she was making a fuss over this or that, however, her eyes shone with something much more than her usual childish fluster. "She... She wants to take Blanc away! We have to stop her!"

Rom looked at the ground, unable to respond to that. It was true. That was why she initially had been completely on board with this idea of Ram's. Ever since Vert had gotten closer to Blanc, their sister had been spending less and less time with them... And she was changing, almost like she was turning into someone else. Rom didn't know what to do... Even sweet little Rom had found herself filling with uncomfortable feelings towards the blonde who she had often considered to be like a friendly, if sometimes over affectionate, older sister in her own right.

"Yeah... You know it's true." Taking Rom's silence to mean she was agreeing with her, Ram closed her eyes and nodded, like she had won that battle already. As far as the CPU Candidate was concerned, she absolutely and most definitely had. "Besides, this is funny, isn't it?"

Silence. This time, Rom's expression turned sour — like she wanted to speak, but didn't want to hurt any feelings. It was an expression Ram was quite familiar with.

"You... don't think this is funny?" The CPU Candidate could feel herself deflating inside with this knowledge. Surely, Rom thought it was funny...! She had to think it was funny making the person who wanted to steal their sister away pay a little bit! It wasn't _hurting_ anyone, it was just... "You really don't?"

Rom shook her head.

Now it was Ram who lowered her head. Looking towards the door herself, already knowing the answer to the question she was about to ask, she let the words leave her lips despite the fact that...

"F-Fine, then what about-"

"I didn't think what you did in the bath was funny either..."

... despite the fact that Rom was definitely going to say that next too.

"So... So what? We just let her take our sister away?! Really, Rom!?" Even if Rom didn't think it was funny, Ram wouldn't stand for this. She could accept her twin sister not sharing her sense of humor, but- But there was no way she would let her twin fall for whatever trick that that blonde CPU had played on Blanc! She took a step towards Rom, hoping with all her heart that it wasn't too late for her sister. "You want her to do that? You really want her to do that...?!"

"No, I... I don't..." Rom couldn't look anywhere but down. Everything felt heavy and confused inside. She knew Vert wasn't a _bad_ person, she just... She was just doing a bad _thing_, that was all... But did that make it okay for them to do a bad thing to her too...? She didn't understand... Before she could stop herself, she felt the sting of forming tears in her eyes, and hurriedly rushed to wipe them away.

"Wh-" Most times, seeing Rom starting to cry would be all Ram needed to halt whatever she was doing and try to stop those tears. Most times, though, didn't involve such a dire situation. With Rom starting to cry, Ram could only take that to mean Vert had already started to worm her way into Rom's heart too — that Rom was being taken too. Soon, she'd be all alone, and both of them, Rom and Blanc, would... would... "No! No, you can't! I-I won't let you! P-Please, Rom, you can't leave me too!"

Rom stared, her tears halted — not because she felt better or convinced or any differently, but because Ram had beaten her to the punch. Tears were spilling out of her twin's eyes in a fashion that made Rom want to drop everything and just hug her sister until everything felt better.

Before Rom could do anything about that, as Ram continued to cry and yell and let it all out, they were interrupted. Before she could finish trying to convince Rom she was making a horrible decision, Ram found herself being hoisted into the air. Eyes wide with alarm, she began flailing her arms and legs, looking left and right to find the source of this mysterious assault. Rather than helping, Rom was simply watching wide eyed, mouth open like she'd seen a ghost — or, more realistically, gotten caught trying to sneak some cookies out of the cookie jar.

"My my... Take _Blanc_ away? Oh, you silly girls, you should have realized my plan all along was to take _you_ away!"

Ram's limbs dropped to her sides almost immediately upon hearing the voice. She craned her head up, rather than to the side, and her eyes met with the blue ones of none other than Vert herself, who was looking down at her with a strange expression that made Ram feel even more conflicted than she already did. As tears slowly continued to fall, the CPU Candidate found herself being set back onto the ground and turned around, before the buxom blonde knelt before her and began gently wiping away the tears with her thumb.

"Honestly, look at you two... Standing out here and crying about _this_, of all things..." The gentleness of Vert's voice was matched only by the movements she made as she slowly wiped the tears away from Ram's face. Glancing just above Ram's head, she moved one hand from the girl's face and slowly beckoned for Rom, who was still watching, stunned, to come over. "Come here. Why don't we three sort this out before your sister comes home? I think she would like that very much, don't you?"

While Ram was still managing to force a sour look at Vert despite the fact that she was standing still and begrudgingly accepting the kindness being offered her, Rom dutifully walked over to the two and stood next to her sister, at which point Vert reached over and ran a hand through her hair and began addressing the few tears that had spilled from Rom's eyes as well.

"Sort it out..." Quietly offering those few words to the young woman before her, Rom ignored the quiet gasp from her side. If Vert was willing to address this... whatever it was, and if she could make all the bad feelings inside of Rom go away, then she was more than willing to hear her out. She put on a brave face, because the idea of Blanc being taken away still scared her just as much as it did Ram, but she knew she had to be a big girl for this. "I want that."

"Mmm..." Seeing that she was making significant progress with one already, Vert smiled warmly at the Candidate, gently patting the girl on the head. The girl offered her a hesitant, tentative smile in response. For Rom, Vert knew, this was a huge amount of headway made. "So do I. I would be heartbroken if we couldn't."

Ram could only stare. She couldn't believe what she was seeing, what she was hearing. Something inside her throat — was it her heart? how had her heart moved there so quickly? yet it had to be her heart — was shaking, it felt like. It was like it was going to burst, like _she_ was going to burst. This was the exact thing that she had been so scared of happening. Yet now that it was here, she couldn't find the power to scream about it or fuss. It scared her. Blanc was already almost gone, to a place that Ram was sure she could never reach, now Rom too?

Ram took a step backwards. She took another step backwards, and tears were falling once again.

"I hate you! I hate both of you! G-Go leave m-me if you don't want me that much! S-See if I care!"

Before either Vert or Rom could do anything about it, Ram had turned tail and made a break for it, dashing down the hall as fast as her legs could take her. Maybe her mind understood, somewhere, that she was wrong, but her heart was full of everything she had been feeling about Blanc for months — and now it was being applied to Rom as well. She couldn't handle that. It was going to break her little heart into pieces and she had to get away before she let Vert take anything else away.

Biting her lip, Vert stood up as she watched Ram dash off, placing a hand on Rom's shoulder to stop her from going after her. Doubt quickly filled the CPU Candidate up with this action — had she made the wrong decision? Had she really betrayed Ram after all...?

Her worries were put to rest with one look at the expression on Vert's face.

"Do you know where she'll go, Rom?" With her free arm, the CPU rubbed her shoulder. It was much too cold to be dealing with all of this, though if what she had overheard before she'd left the guest room was true, these two troublemakers were more the cause of her chill than the weather outside was. If that was the case, then it was because she and Blanc hadn't done something about this that she was cold now, and she very well couldn't complain about _that_ like she could the weather, now could she? "We can't leave her alone right now."

"Kitchen... She'll go to the kitchen." Rom hesitantly raised a hand to point in the direction Ram had went off in, even though she knew Vert knew very well where the kitchen was — even before things had changed before her and Blanc, Vert was a frequent enough visitor as it was. She wasn't sure what Vert was going to do, but knowing Vert wasn't going to leave Ram alone restored her confidence significantly. "I don't want her to be alone."

Taking Rom's raised hand in her own, Vert set off towards the kitchen and offered her girlfriend's younger sister a bright smile. It was a smile that, for the first time since this incident began, Rom actually felt comfortable returning.

"My, what a coincidence, Rom. I don't want that either."


	3. Crisp Chapter 2

As she made her way down the hall with Rom, the young girl's hand firmly, but still gently, clasped in her own, Vert couldn't help but wonder something. It was an unsettling thought, but it was one that absolutely needed to be addressed nonetheless. While Rom seemed to be taking to Vert's aid somewhat, it just as well could be because of how Ram needed the aid herself more. In other words... Not because she herself was ready to accept it yet, but simply for her sister's sake. That was no good. From what she was gathering, these two sisters had been worrying about Blanc getting "taken away" for quite some time... Considering how long she and Blanc had been together, had they been holding this in for that long as well?

That was unacceptable to Vert. Such sweet girls shouldn't have had such worries on their shoulders for so long at all!

Well, there was no sense being quiet about it, was there? Someone had to take that first step. Perhaps it was up to her to step into the house of this family and make that move herself.

"Rom, how do you feel about Blanc and I?" Getting right to the point, Vert looked down to her side to see just how Rom would react to the question she was posing. Knowing her, she would probably find it difficult to even respond at all. Perhaps she should try making it easier for her to be honest? It was worth a shot. "Please don't hesitate to say everything that you feel — in fact, use all the mean words to describe me that you'd never let anyone else hear, if it makes you feel better. I don't mind one bit."

It was about as Vert expected. Rom nearly stumbled over her own two feet, and likely would have tripped and fallen to the ground if not for Vert having been there to keep her steady. Now she refused to meet Vert's gaze, but with Vert still walking towards the kitchen, hopefully where they would find Ram, and Rom clearly trying to figure out how to think and walk at the same time, walking was going to have to be set aside for a moment, it seemed.

The blonde smiled softly at the conflicted expression on the girl's face, a bit of familiar heaviness in her own heart settling in, a bit of longing to have someone like this worried she would be taken from them the way Blanc had these two sweet little girls flickering to and fro at the sight — but no, she mustn't think like that now. This wasn't the time for that. All that mattered right now were these two girls, and as someone who cared about them, not to mention as the person who had been put in charge of them, that was all she would think about.

More importantly, in the immediate, all that mattered during this moment was what Rom had to say. Assuming she would say anything, that is. Vert hesitated — would giving her a push now be too much?

"She's... not Sis anymore..." Vert blinked. She hadn't been expected this sort of comment from the girl, but here it was. She wasn't quite sure what she could do with it, but Rom was talking now, so it was certainly a good start. For her part, Rom herself wasn't even sure how to completely vocalize everything she had been feeling in the first place, but if Vert was willing to listen, then... maybe they really _could_... "Ever since you and her... She's different. I don't get it... And she's not spending time with us as much anymore..."

Vert lowered her gaze. She supposed there was no avoiding the last complaint of Rom's. She had been expecting as much at this point, quite honestly. It was undeniable. She had always known that Blanc was probably a difficult sister to have — likewise, she knew from spending time with Blanc that she struggled with her sisters sometimes. She loved them dearly, but she couldn't always express it well, and with her fuse as short as it was combined with their youth... Well, it was understandable that things had gotten to be so tangled.

"I suppose that _is_ my fault, isn't it?" She offered an apologetic smile to Rom, who looked terribly guilty for having admitted this to her. That wasn't all the CPU Candidate had said, however, and Vert knew she needed to address everything if she wanted to get this situation right as rain again. "What do you mean by different, though...? Has she changed much since we started dating, Rom?"

Rom blinked up at her, as if she had been expecting a harsher reaction, then her expression turned to a more thoughtful one. Maybe Vert really _could_ help them out...? If that was true... If that was true, then Ram didn't have to...!

"U-Um... Sometimes, some things... She doesn't act the same as she did before..." The brunette looked skyward, as if straining to recall a memory. Vert couldn't help but smile at the expression Rom was making — she was trying so hard! The CPU would absolutely have to meet the expectations that were clearly being placed upon her by this sweet girl. "Not bad, but... not the same."

"My... Not the same?" Unfortunately, that wasn't enough for Vert to go off of. She tapped her chin with the index finger of her free hand, gently tugging Rom towards the kitchen now that it seemed like she had recovered from Vert asking her to talk — they couldn't leave Ram waiting after all. Without even noticing that she was being pulled along, Rom followed in Vert's footsteps perfectly. "What do you mean by that? Different how?"

Despite the rapid firing of questions — at least rapid firing for a quiet young girl like Rom — she didn't stumble again. Instead, she seemed to focus even more on trying to find a way to describe this just perfectly. If Vert could fix this, if Vert could make them feel better, then Rom had to tell her everything, didn't she? She did. But what was an example of... Oh... Oh, _that_ was one...! It had happened again recently, too...!

"When she reads us fairy tales... Sometimes... She gets distracted by them and stops reading, right at the good part... You know..." Seeing that Vert evidently wasn't following what Rom was saying, despite how it _clearly_ was _so_ obvious, Rom lowered her voice, as if she was about to reveal the ending to a story and it was a big secret. How cute! "When... When there's _kissing_...! Sis... She can't read us stories that have kissing in them anymore...!"

Rom was looking at Vert expectantly, clearly feeling like she had revealed a huge, horrible truth about her older sister, and it had taken a great deal of effort for her to get it out. For her, this was probably true, but... Vert, with her own perspective on the matter, had a pretty good idea of just why this change had taken place.

Now that Blanc herself was, well... "getting to the good part" (oh how _innocent_ these girls were!) herself, it was probably embarrassing for her to read about things like that to her little sisters. Oh, and maybe she was doing a little fantasizing too? That definitely fit Blanc's character, and Vert could just kis- er, "get to the good part" with her right now for it if she were here.

"I see... That's _very_ serious... My my, we certainly can't let this sort of thing continue, can we? Then what, Rom?" Seeing as the girl was looking up at her with such clear expectations, well, Vert couldn't very well respond any other way, could she? Certainly not. Apparently, this response pleased Rom, for the girl returned her gaze skyward for a moment... before she promptly looked straight down at the ground, even picking up the pace. Was that a bad sign. "Rom? What happens next?"

The girl was silent for a moment.

"Then, um..." Now why did Rom sound so _guilty_...? "Then... Sis gets a little angry and says it's your fault she can't do it anymore..."

Vert fought the urge to squeal — that or burst out laughing. Who knew Blanc had such a cute side to her? Oh, Vert _so_ wished she could get to see this!

"I see, I see... That _is_ different, isn't it?" However, she did her best to contain herself — and any errant gushes of blood wanting to burst from her nose at this revelation too — and instead chose to treat this matter as seriously as Rom was. Besides, to Rom, it probably _was_ a serious chance, wasn't it? Vert couldn't look down on it if she wanted to help. "Can you think of anything else? I promise that I'll talk to her about it once she gets home. Since I'm going to be staying over, maybe I'll just read the parts of the stories that she can't for... whatever reason. Would you like that, Rom?"

"I... I, um..." Hesitantly, Rom looked up towards this blonde CPU who she had been so sure was the cause of so many problems — but she was now so sure clearly _wasn't_. She couldn't find the words to answer her, so instead... She smiled.

Vert beamed. All thoughts of the cold — which were already considerably less now that they had left the wing of the Basilicom that had had its heating turned off by Ram anyway — were completely blown away by the expression Rom gave her in response.

"Would you mind if I take that as a yes? It would mean so much to me if I can take that as a yes." Vert almost immediately regretted asking this question. Not because Rom turned her down, oh heavens no, but because the expression Rom offered her in response completely obliterated the one she had been giving Vert just a moment prior, and the only way it could _possibly_ be topped off was...

"I don't mind... No, I want to... I mean... I would."

Vert was definitely going to need to find a pillow to squeal into later once this was all sorted out. Why did Blanc get such cute sisters all to herself?

Holding it in for the moment, Vert instead just beamed all the more brightly at the girl she was walking alongside, who in turn offered her a sweetly shy little smile in response.

"Then it's settled." Gently giving the girl's hand an affectionate squeeze, Vert increased her pace ever so slightly. This had been important, but with Ram somewhere alone and hurting, they couldn't waste much more time than they already had. "I'd like to talk to you a little more about some of the other things you said, Rom, like about how your grumpy sister isn't spending enough time with you sweeties anymore, but I think we should find Ram first. How does that sound? If she's in the kitchen, I think I have a good idea to get her to warm up to talking to me."

To this, Rom simply nodded in agreement, offering a "mmhmm" sort of noise in response. She was glad Vert wanted Ram to be involved in that conversation too. She was starting to see why Blanc liked spending so much time with Vert in the first place — not that it had ever _really_ been that hard to begin with...

Vert sighed inwardly, relieved that at least one of the two was going to be giving her this chance. She wasn't sure what things were like when she wasn't around, but she did know Blanc did tend to pay attention to her when she was over here... Normally, Vert would find that cute — her girlfriend getting all flustered and distracted? that's adorable! — but if it was coming at the expense of the twins like this? She was going to need to talk to Blanc later as well, wasn't she? It helped that she'd already had a similar talk with Chika (... a few times, in fact), and Rom was already responding much better to it than Chika tended to.

Well, Blanc would probably be easy enough. She loved her sisters, perhaps more than the sisters in question themselves even knew, and she likely hadn't even realized this was an issue. Changes like this are naturally ones that effect the other people in one's life, not just the person themselves and the person they're in a relationship with...

She hoped Ram was okay.

"I just hate to think that you two were this upset while we were off being happy." She hadn't exactly meant to say it. She had certainly been thinking it, and part of her had wanted to say it, but she hadn't really thought it would add anything. What would it do to rub it in that while the two of them had been confused and unable to deal with their sister's happiness, their sister had been off frolicking in relationship rainbows in the meantime? "O-Oh, I'm sorry, Rom, I..."

Rom wasn't looking upset. In fact, she was staring up at Vert a strange expression, like Vert had just taught her a magic spell.

"You... You mean... She's happy...?" This... was unexpected. Vert would have thought it obvious, but... From the way Rom was staring at her, it seemed that to the Candidate before her, however Blanc conducted herself when Vert wasn't around — and even how she did while Vert _was_ around — just didn't come off that way to the twins. "Really...? She was? But..."

Seeing this, Vert found a small smile worming its way onto her face.

She was starting to figure out where and why part of this misunderstanding had all started. It certainly didn't account for the change in time spent with the twins, but... With what the twins were seeing of their sister's _other_ changes, with _how_ they were seeing it... Perhaps they weren't able to see why Blanc and she spent time together as a couple the way they did now? That would explain why they thought Vert was "taking" Blanc away rather than Blanc actually _wanting_ to go with her, wouldn't it?

"She is, Rom. Once we find Ram, I'll be sure to explain it to you — is it okay if we wait a little bit for that?" Rom nodded. While it was true that Vert wanted to make sure to be able to do this only once she had both twins, while she may have had enough examples of Blanc being happy with her when they were _alone_... She would probably need a little more to work with to be able to explain it to the twins. "I know we're almost there, and then we need to focus on Ram, but can you think of any other things that have been different about Blanc since she and I...?"

Vert let the question hang in the air. If Rom couldn't think of anything in a minute, Ram would take priority anyway, so she didn't want to spend too much time on it this time as she had before. She already had some material to work with, so if it came down to it, she was sure she could explain what was going on between her and Blanc if she had to with what she had.

Surprisingly, luckily for Vert it seemed like Rom had one more thing to tell her up her sleeve yet.

"Oh... Some things... She gets more mad at them more than she used to." Rom nodded thoughtfully. Vert raised a brow. Rom _had_ mentioned this earlier, but strangely hadn't elaborated on it. Perhaps this was a good sign? If it meant Rom was opening up to her more, then Vert would happily accept whatever was about to come. "Like... When you're supposed to meet her, but you don't... Before, she never got bothered by it, but now she usually goes out on really long quests. Mina always talks about, um... Um... 'Ex... Excess... Excessive... property... damage' after that...?"

As soon as Rom finished speaking, Vert looked away, a sheepish, guilty grin on her face. She could immediately think of no less than four instances of what Rom was referring to off the top of her head without even thinking about when it was, what game it had been, or why she had done it. There were likely many more instances of her skimping out on a date or a phone call or even an online gaming session because she'd chosen to do something else.

Blanc... wasn't the only one who had to work on some things, was she, huh...?


	4. Cool Chapter 3

The lights were off in the kitchen when Vert and Rom entered. It was concerning to Vert, at least at first. If Ram had come here, shouldn't the lights be on? Not off, as they were right now? More importantly, shouldn't she see Ram somewhere? There wasn't a sweet little CPU Candidate in sight from what Vert could see, at least besides for the one that had accompanied her... As a matter of fact, from the looks of things, this room hadn't had an occupant for _hours_. Wouldn't they be better off searching elsewhere for Ram...?

With all of this in mind, Vert was about to leave when she noticed that Rom didn't seem particularly perturbed by the state of the room. In fact, it seemed as though she had come here expecting the lights to be off. Strange as it was, if Rom wasn't worried, then she supposed she shouldn't be either. Still, what was it that they would find here? Was Ram hiding somewhere? Vert wouldn't have expected such a thing from the normally boisterous girl, but who was she to question how she dealt with being upset?

As the CPU followed after Rom, who seemed to be being quiet with purpose now rather than because of her nature, Vert realized that there was a sniffling noise coming from somewhere in the room. It was being stifled, as though the source of it had been making a much louder sort of noise until Rom and Vert had arrived, but it was still there, that much was for certain.

Vert's eyes twinkled as she caught sight of a familiar pair of feet. The legs they were attached to were pulled up to their owner's chest and being hugged close to the person's body, and beyond that, Vert couldn't tell.

Ram was hiding under a table.

Ram... was _hiding under a table_.

It was like she was a little puppy. She must truly have thought no one could see her in such a place...!

It took a lot of self-restraint not diving on the floor and cuddling her into submission, but Vert held back. She had already begun formulating a plan once she had heard that Ram was heading for the kitchen, and seeing where Ram was now, she knew that it would be all the easier to put into action if Ram wanted to hide in that sort of way. It might even serve as a fantastic ice breaker between the three... or ice _melter_, rather. She just needed to get a few things first...

"I see... I guess it's just you and me then, isn't it Rom?" The CPU of Leanbox put on airs as she made a point to walk right past the table she now knew Ram was hiding underneath, instead heading towards the cabinets. She made herself busy, making much more noise with her actions than she knew she needed to — she wanted to be heard, after all. "My, it's too bad, you know. I would have thought she would have _loved_ some _nice_ and _warm_ hot chocolate, especially with how _cold_ it is, but I suppose I just don't have to make any for her, now do I?"

Rom looked from Ram, who was very obviously under the table and paying very obvious attention to every word leaving Vert's lips, to Vert, who was going about her business as though she truly didn't have any idea where Ram was, despite the very obvious hiding place she was currently hidden in. At first, the CPU Candidate didn't understand what Vert was trying to accomplish — this... this seemed just _mean_! — but as Rom watched Ram, completely oblivious to everything except the infuriating noise of Vert making one of her most favorite things but _not doing it for her_, Rom realized something.

The sniffling noise she had heard — the noise that she had actually been listening for from the very moment she had entered the kitchen to begin with — had stopped.

When she looked at Vert for conformation, the fact that Vert was holding three mugs and offered Rom a wink was all Rom needed to know Vert's heart was in the right place. Offering an apology to her sister inside, Rom quietly trailed after Vert — she knew her sister well enough to know that this was definitely going to work.

"No... Ram must have left..." Rom would have felt guiltier lying like this, but it was hard to as sh_e _watched Vert gathering things from around the kitchen to make enough for all three of them. Three mugs, three plates, more than enough marshmallows even for three... Still... If she wanted to help Ram, she had to be a little bit of a big girl to do it, didn't she? "Can I, um... Can I..."

Setting down what she needed on the counter, Vert glanced downwards in Rom's direction, tilting her head. Rom was already doing magnificently as far as playing along went, and Vert couldn't have asked for more from her.

"Yes, Rom? What is it?" She offered a welcome smile for the Candidate, hoping it would ease any tension she might have about "lying" to Ram like this. It was harmless in the long term, after all. They just needed to... push her a little to warm up to the conversation they needed to have right now. "You can tell me anything. No matter what it is, you should feel like you can say anything you want to me."

And besides, Vert truly _did_ mean that.

"O-Oh, well..." Swallowing, apparently Vert's words having done just the trick, Rom took a deep breath before looking at Vert like she was about to fight the Deity of Sin herself. If one didn't know the girl, they might have thought that Rom was preparing to go into battle rather than having a conversation about hot chocolate in her own kitchen while her sister was hiding under the kitchen table, yet here she was, a fierce (for Rom) expression on her face, raring to go (for Rom). "S-Since Ram isn't here... I... I want extra... Please...!"

Vert blinked, momentarily caught off guard and focusing more on the request itself rather than the context in which it had been requested in. It was strange! Right? Wasn't it? Vert was making plenty, enough for everyone to have three cups if they wanted, Ram included, and Rom was close enough to be able to see that just fine — so what was...

_"S-Since Ram isn't here..."_

Oh.

... _Oh!_

How... How positively _devious_ of Rom! Vert had no idea the girl had it in her! She was acting like since Ram wasn't here, that meant she could have even more! It was extra that could go to Ram if she _were_ here, but since she "wasn't" here... Oh, Vert was so _proud_!

"Absolutely, Rom, you can have _all_ of the extra, how does that sound?" Vert leaned down and ruffled the girl's hair affectionately, which earned her a somewhat bashful, blushing smile in response — embarrassed and perhaps still guilty, Rom had still managed to do what she set out to, and she most definitely deserved some of Vert's praise for that. "You can have every last drop."

"Really...? All of it...?" For a moment, Vert faltered. That wide eyed, innocent expression on Rom's face almost made Vert wonder if, with the prospect of that much delicious, hot and chocolatey drink on the line, Rom was forgetting what they were trying to do here. "I've never had that much before... Is that okay...? Can we have marshmallows too...?"

It seemed even Rom had her limits. Even so, seemingly on the verge of losing her "ally" to the lure of fresh hot chocolate she could have all to herself, Vert just giggled. She was learning so much about these sisters today. It made putting up with the cold and having to take an extra bath more than worth it.

"As much as you want, Rom." Vert raised her voice ever so slightly now, eyes trained in the direction of the table where she knew Ram was hiding away. Hopefully it would only take a little more of a push to get Ram to come out from underneath there so they could all be together and have this talk. "Since there's no one else here besides me, if you want it, then you can have it. You certainly don't have to worry about _sharing_ any of it..."

To Vert's tremendous surprise... nothing. She had been waiting for the moment she heard a bump and a cry of pain as Ram emerged from the table after hitting her head on something, but there was no such reaction. Nothing like it. Though, although it was hard to see most of the body under the table from her position now, it did look like Ram was at least reacting to what Vert was saying. Was she quivering a little? Restraining herself? That meant she was probably close then. That was a good thing, wasn't it?

Maybe she just needed to push a different subject while the hot chocolate got ready.

"Rom, this will be a few minutes before it's ready. Would you join me at the table?" Vert gestured towards the table — the exact table that Ram was hiding beneath — as though it was the most natural thing in the world. Without waiting for Rom to answer, she smiled, a flash of her goodwill hopefully shining through, and nodded towards it as she made her way over. "I'd like to continue our earlier discussion. Do you mind sitting? I'm famished."

This time, Rom didn't quite follow Vert's lead. She did know as much to not to say "But Ram is under there..." out loud, but she was still confused as to what Vert was intending this time — her mind was torn between oodles of hot chocolate and helping her sister come out, with a dash of remaining guilt. In other words, she wasn't totally remembering just what they had been talking about earlier to begin with.

"I don't mind..." She had, at least, accepted that Vert wasn't as much of a threat as she and Ram had initially thought, and so while she was still wary, Rom was certainly willing to go along with whatever the CPU asked and give it a chance. Besides, this would mean being closer to Ram, and maybe if she was closer to Ram, Ram would feel like coming out sooner? If that was what Vert was thinking, then Rom couldn't really disagree with that, could she? She just hoped Ram would hurry up and come out soon, she was starting to feel bad...

The blonde couldn't help but smile. Rom really was such a sweetheart. If only they didn't have their cover to think about, then she might just have to grab her and love her and hug her and take her home forever and ever!

E-Er... That is... Vert, get it together! Ram! _Ram_!

Shaking those brief thoughts aside, now that Rom was more on her side than ever, at least in this covert operation anyway, Vert was feeling particularly confident, so she decided to be rather bold with her next move. In other words, as she arrived at the table, she pulled out the seat directly in front of where Ram was hiding and sat down, acting for the world like she had no idea a little CPU Candidate was less than a foot away from her at this very moment, much to the surprise of _both_ CPU Candidates — not that she could see one of them, but she could practically feel it. As for the other... seeing Rom about to gasp, Vert quickly held a finger to her lips in a "ssshhh!" gesture.

"O-Oh...!" Rom shook her head. She had almost given it away! The girl quickly covered her mouth with her hands, or too-long sleeves, rather, and Vert gave her a thumbs up of approval in response, before nodding to the seat closest to Vert — the next one closest to Ram after Vert's seat. Nodding in turn, Rom quietly made her way over, trying to calm her pounding heart down. In a way, it was almost like they were playing a game of secret agent, but instead of having to kidnap one of Blanc's stuffed animals (that she thought no one knew she owned), they were trying to lure out Ram... I-It was scary, but exciting...! "So... Um... What were we talking about before again...?"

The CPU laughed. She had been wondering just how caught up in the moment Rom was becoming, and that had answered that question quite nicely, now hadn't it? Seeing a faint blush rising to the girl's cheeks, Vert shook her head and reached over to pat the other girl on the head — making sure to scoot forward ever so slightly in the process.

"Don't worry about it, I'm happy to remind you. It's a _very_ important, _very_ grown up conversation, so I wouldn't want you forgetting any of the details." Although Vert's emphasis had been primarily for catching Ram's attention, seeing Rom's eyes widen in childish wonder at the importance Vert was placing on this conversation made her glow inside. Blanc was so _lucky_! "You sounded surprised when I told you Blanc was happy before, remember that? Did you really think that she wasn't happy?"

With that question asked, recognition crossed Rom's face as the earlier words she and Vert had exchanged returned to her mind. The girl bit her lip and looked downwards. She hadn't expected this to return before they had dealt with her sister, and she wasn't sure... She wasn't sure if she was okay talking about it without Ram there to help her...

Vert smiled understandingly at this reaction. She had certainly made some amount of progress earlier, but perhaps it was too much to expect Rom to be willing to open up to this extent so quickly? She couldn't blame the girl if that was the case, especially considering she was probably much more concerned about the more immediate issue of Ram still hiding under the table — which was precisely why Vert had chosen such a hot button topic to discuss while their treat finished up. Hopefully it would be all ready for them by the time this matter was settled, if she was lucky.

"It's okay, Rom." Her voice gentle, quiet, Vert hesitantly reached out for the girl's hands, taking one of them, bundled in the girl's sweater as it was, in her own. The girl looked up at her, wide eyed, and Vert just nodded reassuringly. "My, I told you, didn't I? You, oh, and Ram if she were here, can tell me anything. If you think I'm a smelly old bat or that I'm sucking Blanc dry, you'd better do it. Just be warned, if I don't like what you say, I might have to do something about it. A CPU has her pride, after all, and I can't have anyone, no matter how sweet, saying things about me, especially from another nation. What would people say if I didn't do something about it?"

Rom's eyes were as wide as game discs now. Her mouth had even fallen open a little. How could Vert sound so scary and so sweet all at the same time...?! She wasn't sure what to think! She wasn't sure what to do! Was this still part of getting Ram out from under the table, or did she mean it? Oh, she wished she could ask Ram about it...!

No, Ram needed her right now. She had to be brave. She had to be strong! Vert wasn't all that bad... Was she?

There was only one way to know for sure.

"R-Really...? So... You... You would do something...?" Her words didn't come out as bold as Rom had hoped they would, but the question still managed to make its way out of her without any cowering in fear — which she wasn't even entirely sure if she felt anyway — so she supposed she could consider this a victory, couldn't she? "I... But... What would you do?"

The CPU's eyes twinkled in delight at the reaction she was getting. Oh, it was cruel, and perhaps the timing was _horrid_ considering what the twins seemed to think of her right now, but if she played this right, then it would all work out in the end. And if Vert was good at anything, it just so happened that she was good at playing.

"Oh _yes_, Rom. I happen to be very, _very_ cruel to people who slander me." Vert nodded seriously, leaning closer and closer to Rom with each word she spoke, her voice getting lower and lower with each syllable. It was all for effect, of course, but the effect she was getting was just so _cute_! Could she be blamed for playing a little too much? Could she really? "When someone says something about me... I take them home... I put them in a room all by themselves... And then I subject them to the most horrible... unyielding... endless... _merciless_... _unforgiving_... **_destructive_**..."

The sadist- er, the _CPU_ of Leanbox let that hang in the air for a moment, both for dramatic effect as well as for...

"Stoooop! You leave Rom alo-**_OW_**_!_"

As if right on cue, Ram finally made her move... or tried to, judging by what Vert was hearing. A loud _thunk_ came from underneath the table, likely from the girl trying to make her escape, followed by silence once again.

"... Yes, destructive _tickling_. Well, I'd say that's a job well done, wouldn't you, Rom?" Now that she could admit to what she was doing (trying to lure out Ram), as Vert pulled away from Rom, she offered the girl a teasing smile, which earned her a relieved look from the girl who was just about to clamber off of her seat and look under the table — the same thing Vert was in the process of doing. Rom seemed to get the message, pausing in her descent to the ground to begin forming a reply to Vert, when...

A sniffling noise interrupting both of their thoughts.

Rom ducked under the table without another word or look exchanged between the two. Frowning, Vert gripped the side of the table and finished lowering herself to see just what the damage was, clicking her tongue upon seeing what state Ram was in.

It could have been worse, at least, but it certainly could have been better.

"My goodness, that's going to leave a mark... Ram, come out right now so I can put some ice on that." Vert offered her hand towards the girl, knowing she'd probably have to start from square one if she tried to take her out by force.

"N-No! Y-You can't make me!" ... perhaps force might be necessary even so.

Vert sighed, withdrawing her hand, guilt sweeping in on her as she watched the tearful girl clutch her head while still trying to look defiant and strong all the while. She had tried to stand up and rammed right into a sharp, steel part of the legs underneath — which had apparently, among other things, completely restored her weakening stubbornness. Had this backfired...?

What could she do now?

Was there _anything_ she could do to get Ram to come out now...?

"You... You can have some of the hot chocolate Vert is making if you come out and listen, Ram..."

The blonde's eyes widened, and she and Ram both looked to Rom in surprise, who was looking more determined than ever to help her sister out from underneath the table so she could join them. Vert found a wave of appreciation for the girl swelling in her chest, and she was nearly drawn to tears herself as she watched Ram begrudgingly start crawling out (towards Rom, of course). W-What a nice save that was! Wonderful! Stupendous! And _about time_, too, Ram!

Now... Maybe _now_ they could _finally_ talk...


	5. Cozy Chapter 4

So here the three of them were. Sitting at the table — none of them _underneath_ the table anymore — each with a mug of hot chocolate in front of them. Rom had opted to sit between Ram and Vert, taking both the mediator's role as well as the role of the nurse (Ram was having trouble drinking her hot chocolate and holding the ice at the same time — Rom was quite happy using one hand for her sister's ice and the other for her own mug now that Ram was with her again), and it _should_ have been the time for things to go as Vert had wanted from the start of this little episode.

Unfortunately...

"So, now that we've settled down... Perhaps we can now resume..." For the third time since she'd poured the hot chocolate, gotten Ram's ice, and situated herself in the least threatening position at the table for the twins, the CPU sheepishly tried to start the conversation back up again. Rom looked to her, ready and waiting. She was halfway there! One twin down, one to go! There was no stopping her now! All she needed _now_ was...

The look Ram gave her stopped Vert cold. The CPU instead smiled awkwardly, a half-hearted laugh escaping her lips as she looked down at her own mug of hot chocolate, marshmallows looking up at her mockingly. How dare the marshmallows make fun of her? They would be melted or in her stomach in a few minutes! They had no right to make fun of her for not being able to talk to her girlfriend's sisters! They... They were much too soft to judge her, that's what they were!

After giving the marshmallows a good stare down, the young woman sighed, raising the mug to her lips and taking a sip. The warm drink was incredibly soothing after how cold she had been earlier — she could still feel that chill, even now that she was in a warmer part of the Basilicom. If only she could get the ball rolling here, maybe then the cold room she had been in just a short time ago would seem like a thing of the past, a funny memory, rather than what it felt like now — the result of two young girls feeling left behind. That was simply unacceptable.

If only she could just _talk_...!

Vert tried looking in Ram's direction, but since she was doing so without bringing attention to it, the CPU Candidate didn't notice. Rather than the look she had been being given before, a much more passive look was on the girl's face. She seemed uncertain. Perhaps she was thinking about things herself? Vert _was_ pushing it, after all, and Rom wasn't "on her sister's side" anymore either. From what Vert could gather now, it wasn't so much now that the issue of Blanc and Vert's relationship was stopping things... It was more that now that Ram was aware she had been set up, Vert was taking the blame for the lovely little lump on her head.

Vert... couldn't exactly deny this particular accusation...

She sighed. She had gotten Ram to come out, but had she put a petty wall between them over how she'd done it? If that was the case, was there anything she could even do at this point to repair the situation and move it to the point where conversation was possible? She wanted to show Ram she was on the girl's side too — that it wasn't even an issue of sides to _begin with_ but at this rate...

"You're lying. I won't forgive you lying to Rom."

... Ram would apparently decide to start things herself?

Dumbstruck by both the turn of events that were transpiring as well as the accusations being thrown her way, Vert simply stared at the girl, who was looking over at her with an extremely serious expression. Her mind had been going so far, so much, in one direction that now that the situation was going in an entirely different one, she needed a minute to load it all! Let her pick up the ammo box over there first, please, Ram!

"See? See? I caught her and now she's in shock that I did it!" Taking Vert's lack of a response to mean something entirely different than what it actually did, Ram turned to look at Rom triumphantly, jabbing a finger in Vert's direction all the while. Vert might have considered the action almost... _spiteful_ if she weren't able to hear the panic in the girl's voice, but to Vert, her tone was far more clear to her than the words it was being used to convey, and that was what managed to snap her back to attention. "She's a liar, Rom! A liar! So now..."

Vert placed her hands on the side of the table, moments from pushing herself into a standing position. If this was what Ram wanted to do, then she would have to act like the adult here and tell it to them straight, rather than gently as she had wanted to. After all, there was no way Rom would shake her head like she was doing right now. Rom would certainly agree with what Ram was saying, and Vert would be back to the very start of all of this if she didn't do anything before Rom disagreed like she was doing right... now?

The blonde blinked, nearly slipping in mid-stand and falling face-first into her drink. Ram was in a similar position, not that Vert was paying too much attention at the moment.

Rom shook her head.

While Ram had perhaps had too much faith in her (baseless) accusation, shamefully, Vert realized she had had too little faith in Rom, hadn't she?

"Now we listen to her." Rom's voice was as quiet as ever, but there was a pleading firmness to it that hadn't been present earlier. Both Ram and Vert watched her, frozen for a moment, before they both lowered back into their seats in one obedient motion. Realizing that she had somehow managed to hold a lot of power over both her sister _and_ a CPU of another nation, Rom's eyes widened as she assessed what she had done, and she too sunk into her seat — even lower than Ram and Vert had sunk now. "O... Okay... Y-You can talk now... Um... Go ahead..."

The CPU next to her smiled brightly. Things were going to be just fine between the three of them. Now she was just sure of it. It would just take a little bit of effort, that's all. She could do that much. She _would_ do that much.

"Ram, Rom... No, I suppose I'll start with you, Ram. Rom, just listen to this part for a moment, if you wouldn't mind." After giving Rom an affectionate nod, Vert took a deep breath in and straightened her shoulders as she turned to face the longer haired twin head on, who gave her a defiant look in response. Vert could certainly go toe to toe with her if that was what she wanted to do. "Ram, you and your sister seem to think I'm taking your sister away from you. I could understand _that_, but then when Rom was 'taken,' you decided I was after her too, so you didn't want to be left behind. Am I right so far?"

Ram tilted her head. She had to force her super serious angry expression to stay on her face as Vert spoke — so far... That sounded right. It didn't sound like Vert was admitting to any of this, but she couldn't get excited or mad or anything when Vert was saying what was true, could she? T-That was obviously what the sister stealer wanted!

"S-So what if you are?" Deciding on this tactic, Ram crossed her arms in a huff. Quite frankly, she was a little bothered that Vert was facing her crimes so calmly. She should be freaking out and crying and her hair should be turning strange shapes and her eyes should be bulging, like in her and Rom's lawyer games! "That just means you know you're guilty and you know just what you're guilty of. Just admit it then."

Rather than admitting anything, Vert just laughed. She really wanted to get this over with so she could give this girl a big, _big_ hug.

"My, but that's strange... Yes, it is. It definitely, absolutely is. Isn't that strange? First I was here to take Blanc away, now I'm here to take everyone away from you and leave you behind. Why in the world would I do that? Does that make sense to you, Rom?" Turning away from Ram for a moment, Vert looked to the girl's sister to see if the girl could see where she was trying to take this. It looked as though the gears were starting to turn, but she hadn't quite arrived at the station yet. That was close enough, Vert supposed. Seeing that Rom wasn't saying it _wasn't_ strange, at least, she decided she could take that for now and turned back to Ram. "Now Ram, which is it? Were you worried that I would take your big sister away, or were you worried that you would get left behind?"

The CPU Candidate being spoken to stared, while her sister next to her tilted her head, as if the question had made the gears start turning that much faster. Was someone going to explain what was going on here, or did Ram have to do all of this herself? That wasn't fair at all!

"A... Aren't they the same thing now that you have Rom?" Ram shook her head furiously, confused. She... She was trying to be tricked! That had to be what was happening here, there was just no other explanation. There wasn't! Not a one! Vert was trying to trick her, just like Rom and Blanc had been tricked! She wouldn't let it happen! She... She had to stay not-tricked so she could un-trick the tricked ones from their being... Argh, she was even more confused now! This was all Vert's fault! "J-Just stop it! Jerk! I'd be left behind if you took her too, so you're just taking them both! They're the exact same thing and you know it! Stop trying to confuse me!"

At this point, Rom couldn't help but quietly interject from her position in the middle.

"B... But... I'm _not_ taken... I'd never leave Ram..."

Sadly, she went ignored for the moment, at least by Ram. Vert may have heard her, or maybe she didn't — either way, she had something to say that overrode that regardless.

"Really, Ram?" Vert crossed her arms and leaned back in her seat. She was speaking calmly and her posture was fairly nonthreatening — a start contrast to how discussions with the twins' older sister normally went when they lasted for this long. Vert simply sat there, arms crossed, and asked: "Are they? Are you absolutely sure about that?"

Silence.

Ram couldn't fight it. For some reason, maybe she knew somewhere inside and she just hadn't realized yet, she couldn't bring herself to snap back a retort. Instead, she lowered her gaze to her mug, before grabbing the ice that had been sitting on her head and setting it on the table — relieving Rom of nurse duty — before grabbing her mug and taking a good, long sip.

Vert supposed it was a start.

"It's not, Ram." The CPU closed her eyes as she continued, leaning back into the chair as she spoke. So... This was what being a big sister was really like? She didn't hate it. Opening her eyes again, she leaned forward, a soft smile forming on her lips. "If I was just 'taking' Blanc, you would still have Rom, but now you seem to think you don't. My, that seems like a rather noteworthy contradiction to me, doesn't it? So let's look at it like this: Why would I 'take' Rom and not you? If anything, wouldn't I want a complete set? How could I possibly live with myself having 'taken' two of the three cutest girls in the whole wide world when I'd left one behind? I don't think that sounds like me at all."

Ram and Rom both blinked in unison, their cheeks tinged with identical patches of pink — not just at the sudden compliments, but at being put in the same category as their sister. Their sister... The most beautiful and wonderful and amazingest person in the whole wide world, and _they_ were comparable to _that_? Even Ram — or perhaps _especially_ Ram, with her little fledgling ego — couldn't help but like the idea of all of that.

Vert couldn't help but giggle at the reactions she had received. She had just been being honest, but it seems the two thought rather highly of their sister, didn't they? Well, not that she could particularly disagree... If only the CPU in question could get it through her head and stop being so fussy about certain things, _honestly_...

Well, that was a matter for another day, Vert supposed. For now, she still had _these_ cuties to deal with.

"... that is, by the way, if my objective was to 'take' anyone in the first place." She finally added, now that the two had had enough time to think about the error in their logic. While she certainly would like to 'take' Blanc someday, it most definitely was not in the way the twins were thinking — even Vert could barely stand thinking about it without acting like a schoolgirl! The CPU offered them a rueful look as they processed this new idea, but she wasn't done quite yet. "From what Rom's told me, I can certainly see how it looks like that's what I'm doing, but I assure you both, that's not what's happening between your sister and I — have you considered that your sister has been a willing participant in all of this? Or, in your words, that she _wants_ to be 'taken' by me?"

While Rom had been thinking about the idea since Vert had suggested it to her earlier, when they were making their way through the tremendous Basilicom to get to the kitchen, Ram looked affronted by the idea.

"Ram... She says Sis is happy..." Having already been warming up to the idea, however, and been looking at the past year with it in mind, Rom was already quick to speak up in the idea's defense, much to Vert's inward relief — she would be sure to give that girl an extra big hug later! — but she knew that were she to show any signs of that, Ram would probably return to thinking this was all some kind of setup. "If... If she _is_ happy, then maybe..."

"T-That's not true!" Ram's face was red, and if Vert didn't know better, she looked like she was going to start crying again. Her heart ached seeing this, but she didn't know what to do. She felt helpless — for a moment, she felt like she didn't belong, like she was in over her head, like... The moment quickly passed as Ram continued, however. "Blanc... Blanc's been acting too weird! She's not happy! When she's happy, she remembers to read to us! When she's happy, she gives us extra cookies after dinner when Mina's not looking! When she's happy, she makes sure we understand the whole story, even when we're not paying attention! And she gets annoyed when we're not, 'cause she's happy and spending time with us and we're not paying attention to her...! When she's happy, she doesn't... forget to... But now... Now she just..."

Ram couldn't finish, but after her conversation with Rom — combined with the glare Ram shot her way before she started wiping at her eyes to prevent the incoming tears — Vert had a fairly good idea of what Ram had been going to say. Vert hesitantly looked in Rom's direction, hoping that maybe, just maybe, the little angel might come up with something to help pacify things once more, that she would come to Vert's aid once again... but Vert knew better than to hope for another miracle like that. Ram's words had reminded Rom of why she had been fine with freezing Vert in her guest room in the first place. She too was tearing up, her head dropped against Ram's shoulder, who had in turn wrapped an arm around her sister like it was second nature. It probably was. It obviously was.

Watching this display, a painful, sinking feeling struck Vert. She covered her mouth and looked away.

How often had this happened?

How many times had she and Blanc stayed out longer than planned on a date?

How many tears had these girls spilled waiting for their sister to come home and read to them?

And how many times had that hope been betrayed when Blanc came home and instead got on the phone or the computer to spend more time with Vert instead...?

Too many times.

The CPU knew that it wasn't like this all the time. She knew it for a fact — she knew it personally, on top of that. And unless Blanc was lying to her, which she sincerely doubted, Blanc still spent time with her sisters, for she confided in Vert about it during rare and precious moments of vulnerability. Even Rom had mentioned time the sisters still spent together — changed time spent together, yes, but time still spent together. From a logical, reasonable perspective, Vert understood that the times Blanc was there probably far outweighed the times she wasn't... On the other hand, it might have been too close for her to feel comfortable with that knowledge.

Shaking her head, more determined than ever to make this right, Vert rose from her seat. The twins, holding each other, didn't notice her approach until she had descended upon their seats, her arms around them both and hugging them as tightly as she could.

"Listen to me, girls. I don't know what I can tell you that will make this right. I can only tell you the truth, and no matter how much you don't like it, all I can do is tell you that." She pulled them closer and pressed her face against the top of their heads. They weren't resisting — that was a good sign, she hoped. "Your sister isn't being taken away... Do you know the princes and princesses in your stories? How they fall in love and go off and live happily ever after? Well... Girls, I love your sister. I would never do anything to hurt her, or anyone she loves. That means you. It means you two more than anyone else." A pause so that could sink in. "The thing is... When people are in a relationship... things change. It's a very new experience. Perhaps some change things that shouldn't, perhaps some things happen that aren't nice, but it's what happens. Blanc and I... We're still learning too. This is a very big change for the both of us as well, you know... Have you thought about that before?"

Still nothing but sniffling. Ram hadn't tried to run away again, so Vert decided to take it as a sign that she was being listened to.

"It's okay if you haven't. We didn't either. We didn't think nearly as much about how the two of you were taking this as we should have... I certainly didn't. I think she and I are going to have a talk later, and I promise, it'll be a good one and everything will be much better after. But for now, let me tell you something. Blanc has been trying. She may not show it, but trust me, she doesn't show a lot of things — even Noire is more honest with herself than Blanc is sometimes. But Blanc... She has been thinking about you two, in her way. Don't you ever think she's forgotten you for one minute — if you want to not like me, that's fine, but I won't stand for you two thinking that about your older sister." This seemed to finally get the attention of the twins — as one, they pulled away and looked up at her, surprised. "It's true. She _is_ happy with me, but she'll still think about you. She _loves_ you. I... Well, I foolishly told her that she had nothing to worry about, that you two would love her no matter what, but after tonight, as true as it may be... I see I was speaking out of place. So maybe it _is_ my fault, and for that, I owe you both a lot, and I'll do my best to make it up to you. But as for your sister? You _must_ understand... Even if that's all true, that doesn't mean... It just means..."

"It means... She just loves you too. So she's trying to figure out how to share... 'Cause... She should get to have that too..."

Vert blinked.

_Rom_ blinked.

Both girls turned to the source of the interjection.

With her "stubborn as a mule" expression on as strongly as ever... It was Ram that had spoken up.

Realizing all eyes were on her, the girl quickly became defensive — at least as defensive as she could be, considering she was still making no attempt to escape from Vert — and crossed her arms, looking pointedly at the table.

"W-What? I... I had to do the same thing... Me and Rom did, sort of... When we got to know Nepgear and Uni, I mean..." An adorably stubborn scowl graced Ram's features as she stared pointedly at the table, memories of how she had refused to accept the girls who were her now closest friends into her life. She hadn't disliked Nepgear and Uni so much, but... But Nepgear had been taking Rom away, and she was the enemy so... It wasn't the same, but it was similar enough in Ram's mind that she could understand her sister's position more. A little, anyway.

Ram swallowed.

She was about to do something very unlike her... but... if... if her sister really _was_ happy... And she couldn't truly deny that anymore... And if Vert was the one making her that way... And after everything else Vert had said up until now...

"I'm sorry."

There was silence for a few moments. Rom was stunned, and Vert, well, stunned was simply an understatement for what she was.

And then...

"I take it back! I'm sorry, Blanc, but I take it all back! I _am_ taking you! I'm taking both of you forever and ever and ever! Oh, I love you, Ram! And you too, Rom! Mwah! Mwah! Mwah mwah mwah!"

"Blegh! G-Gross! Stop kissing me! My cheeks are getting all wet!"

"I... I want a kiss...! Want one too..."

"Ewww, no you don't!"

"But I do..."

"Don't worry girls, there's plenty to go around!"

"I'd rather have more hot chocolate!"

"There's enough of that too. Now hold _still_...!"

"_Nooooooooo...!_"

And so, at long last, this chilly night in Lowee had finally warmed up.


	6. Comfy Chapter 5

Once the First Great Kiss Siege of Lowee had finally come to its soggy end, the three young women finally settled down and returned to more pleasant activities for the evening. They still might have had a few things to talk about, Vert knew, but the biggest hurdle was finally past them, and now they could just enjoy the trip down the hill. The rest of the conversation could even wait for another day... Perhaps a warmer day? A warmer day sounded quite lovely. What's more, Vert noticed in amusement that Ram had "subtly" changed the seating arrangements once everyone had sat back down so that there was a twin on each of her sides, rather than Rom having to sit in the middle like a mediator. She might have to start planning out the Second Great Kiss Siege if Ram kept this cuteness up...

For now, though, the CPU decided she would rather just enjoy the peace of having two adorable girls at her either of sides as she finished her warm, chocolatey drink. All things considered, this moment was definitely worth putting up for the freezing cold that the twins had put her through earlier that evening. She wouldn't mind leaving that part out of this when she told Blanc about what had happened between the three of them later on.

"When will Blanc get home?" It was Ram who finally spoke up, at long last breaking the silence that the trio had been enjoying sitting at the table, sipping at their hot chocolate. While this seemed to be becoming the trend for them, considering the change of heart the girl seemed to have finally had towards Vert, the CPU was more than happy to hear whatever the girl had to say — though in this case... unfortunately, even with Rom perking up and looking hopefully in Vert's direction, the goddess just didn't have an answer for them. "I... I, um, I gotta- I mean, I wanna tell her something."

A blonde eyebrow rose in response to the CPU Candidate's words as its owner forced back a smile. Now _what_ could little Ram _possibly_ "gotta" say to Blanc all of a sudden that she hadn't needed to say before, hmmm?

"My, I'm afraid I don't know, Ram. She said she had to leave on business, so it could be longer than just today..." Vert's desire to smile faded somewhat as she considered this possibility. She had since accepted that Blanc hadn't meant anything by leaving, that it had been just a twist of fate that had led to the situation they were in — which had ultimately been for the best, given the situation with the twins — but she too wanted to see Blanc. Nothing she could do about it now, she supposed. "Will I do in the meantime? You don't have to call me sister, unless you want to of course, but I'll be happy to do anything and everything that Blanc would do for you in her stead."

The twins leaned forward, exchanging a look with each other. Clearly some sort of twin communication, silent to the world outside of their own gazes, was happening before Vert's very eyes. How exciting! She wondered if she'd be able to learn how to translate someday... Maybe she should try to practice with the Vert from the other dimension? Oh, but did she count as a twin...? Now that was something to _really_ wonder...

Before Vert could travel down this train of thought further, perhaps for the best considering the sort of chaos she and her counterpart from the other dimension could probably get into when left together for an extended period of time, she felt a tug at her side. It was from Rom's end — an invaluable ally throughout all of this and an absolute doll all around. Not that Ram over there on her other side wasn't too.

"What is it?" The CPU offered a gentle look to the girl, who was looking up at Vert with a sweet, yet somehow... lazy?, yes, lazy sort of look. It was _extremely_ cute, which just made Vert's smile widen as the girl struggled to look at her, out of shyness or... something else. "Have you two decided on what you'd like to do?"

Rom nodded slowly, dropping her head onto Vert's arm in mid-nod, which in turn almost led to Vert picking her up again. Had her cuteness skills spontaneously leveled up somehow...?!

"Um... Me and Ram are getting tired..." As if to accentuate this point, the Candidate opened her mouth and broke out into a yawn at just that moment. Vert's eyes twinkled in amused understanding as she understood where Rom's change in demeanor had come from — the girl wanted to go to sleep, then. She looked to her side, curious, and sure enough, there was Ram, starting to look sleepy herself... though Ram was being much more defiant about it than Rom was. "Can we just go to sleep now...? Maybe... Blanc will be home... tomorroooo..."

Another yawn from Rom silenced the end of her sentence, and she was joined by a yawn from Ram coming from Vert's other side. This one, however, was quickly stifled by the girl making it. It seemed as though Ram had a bit more pep left in her than Rom did. Either way, it seemed like the twins had decided it was bed time. All things considered, this was probably later than Mina or even Blanc let them stay up normally anyway. She supposed it was because neither of them were home right at the moment.

Blinking slowly, Vert realized she had just glossed over something rather important. Since neither of the twins seemed to be in a rush, thankful for this chance, she went over that past thought word for word, and realize...

_...neither of them were home right at the moment..._

Wait... Did that mean...

_Vert_ got to... got to... _tuck the twins in_!? My my my, Pongsmas had certainly come early for _her_ this year, hadn't it?

"Then... How about you two pick out a story you'd like to hear and I read it to you before bed? Rom told me Blanc's been having some trouble with it recently, and I believe it's high time you two get to hear the whole thing." Surveying the two girls, who seemed to have perked up a fair deal after hearing the word "story," Vert smiled warmly at the two of them. This was going just swimmingly now, now wasn't it? "Or maybe I could tell you one...? Well, whichever you'd prefer, I'd be happy to do it. What do you say?"

Rom was smiling sleepily up at Vert, which was all the response she needed from her. Ram, on the other hand...

"I... I guess you telling us one could be okay..."

... well, her expression said it all anyway.

"My, then what are we waiting around here for? It's settled!" Standing up, Vert placed a hand on a shoulder of each of the twins and helped them both stand up in turn. Rom let out another yawn, leaning against Vert for support and latching onto the CPU's arm to keep herself steady, while Ram seemed to be debating something. Whatever it was, Vert wasn't going to push the matter, given what it had taken to get this far. Instead, she looked over the two CPU Candidates with a cheerful expression and beckoned out of the kitchen with her head. "Shall we?"

"Okay..." Rom, eyes half-open, managed this much at least.

After a moment, Ram realized that Vert was waiting for her, so she nodded dumbly, shifting her gaze about the room.

"Just..." Ram stopped herself. Even Rom seemed to be curious about what was making the girl hesitate now, for she was peeking over from Vert's other side, sleepily questioning her sister with her eyes. Vert looked down at the girl, eyebrows raised, and waited for her to continue. They weren't in any rush, after all. "H-Hey, stop looking at me like that! Come on already!"

Her cheeks heating up considerably, Ram finally mustered up the courage she had been working on for the past moment or so and grabbed Vert's free hand, which had slid off her shoulder when they had all stood up, in her own. Looking like an adorable little tomato, Ram shyly tugged in the direction of the bedrooms, doing her best to look tough despite her clear inability and unwillingness to meet Vert or her sister's gaze.

"C-Come on I said...! Jeez... You're both being so slow..."

How _cute_!

Turning from Ram, Vert looked down at Rom, who was smiling affectionately at her sister. The Candidate caught notice of this and looked back at her, her smile widening just a bit in return. This exchange complete — Vert wondered if what had just happened between her and Rom was like what Rom and Ram had done with each other earlier...? — Vert set off, slow to make sure the one twin leaning on her was steady, towards the bedrooms.

It would be a bit of a walk to get there — really, did Basilicoms _have_ to be so large? — but Vert wasn't worried. She had made sure to check the thermostat and fix it as she and Rom had passed it on the way over, so by the time they arrived now, they wouldn't have to worry at all about it being too cold. The more they walked, though... Vert realized she might have something else to worry about if they weren't careful.

"My... This has been quite a night, hasn't it?" She finally commented. Normally, the thought of a little sister falling asleep on her would be a dream come true, but in this case, there was only one Vert here and two sisters — she wasn't sure if she'd be able to get the both of them to bed if it happened here, and heaven forbid she leave them on the floor! They'd catch a cold! Besides... She really did want to talk a little more before bed. "I... I do want to say, though, I... I'm sorry if the past year has been hard on you. I know it wasn't clear before, but Blanc _is_ happy, she _does_ care about you, and I... Well, I..."

Vert trailed off. She hadn't meant to return to that subject, but somehow it had started going there of its own accord. She just couldn't... She cared about these girls too, after all! And...

"You... are being dumb again. Stop being dumb." Ram's blunt voice cut her thoughts off straightaway. Flabbergasted by the accusation, especially considering what it was in regards to, Vert could only bring herself to look at Ram in confusion, which apparently was a funny looking face, as it made the girl burst out into sleepy laughter. "Hahaha...! Now you look it too!"

Now this was certainly off-putting. Was she being insulted? Vert wasn't really sure what to do with this.

Apparently she looked even more confused, because Ram started laughing harder at her, which in turn had Vert puffing her cheeks out in frustration. I-It wasn't like she was _bothered_ that she didn't get it or anything! She just... would have liked to know! That was all!

"Okay okay, fine! Now you just look mad." Sounding disappointed, Ram glanced away. Perhaps she had been glad for the distraction from having to explain herself? That would have been like her if that was the case, but was she awake enough to plot out something like that that far ahead? Perhaps not... or perhaps Vert wasn't giving her enough credit. "You're dumb 'cause you're still saying that stuff, okay? Just... forget about it. I-I was wrong too, so, um, we're even, alright? And you said you'd talk to her about it and stuff, so..."

Ah.

That was what it was.

Yes, she supposed she was being dumb, wasn't she?

"So everything will be fine from now on." Vert finished, nodding in confirmation in response to the questioning gaze Ram quickly gave her in response to her words. Now that she understood what Ram had meant, she found herself smiling affectionately, if also a little teasingly, at the CPU Candidate. If only she had a third arm to poke her in the nose or something like that...! "Has anyone every told you that you have a very nice laugh, Ram? That's very special. You should try to get your sisters to do it more — you might just be the key, with a lovely little laugh like that."

"Wh-Wha!? What are you saying!?" Clearly, Ram hadn't expected such a response from Vert. Perhaps she'd never even heard one like it before, because after the initial outburst, it then seemed to stun her into silence.

Just as well, they were approaching the wing of the Basilicom where the bedrooms were. Vert was still beaming at the reaction Ram had given her all the same, even though in just a few moments, it would be story time. Now what sort of story would she tell them...? Would it be too cliche to tell them about her and Blanc? Oh, it probably would, wouldn't it? What to do, what to do, what to...

"What are you doing? Stop, you're gonna pass it."

Breaking out of her flustered stupor, Ram spoke up all of a sudden, and in that moment, she realized the twins had been trying to slow down for a few moments now — but she had just assumed it was because they were getting even more tired. Since that was apparently not the case after all, Vert obeyed the command, but she didn't understand why the command had been issued in the first place.

"Pass what? The rest of the rooms are further down." Vert nodded in the direction of the hallway in front of them. They had only just gotten to this wing, after all, they still had a bit of a walk — not _too_ much of one, but they certainly weren't in any danger of passing anything. In fact, they'd only reached one room so far, and they certainly didn't have any reason to be going in there. It was sweet — they were confused, that was all it was. "You two must be a little sleepy. It's okay, we just have a little more to go, and then..."

"No... In there..." Rom raised one of the hands she had been using to hold on to Vert's arm to point at the one room that they had just come to. The room that they had been about to pass by, for very obvious reasons.

"Yeah, there!" Ram raised one of her own hands to point at the room as well, before looking up at Vert with a grin, as if this was absolutely no big deal at all. To her, it obviously was not. The problem was, well... The problem with what she and Rom were suggesting was that the room in question was... "We wanna do it in our sister's room. Can't we?"

At this suggestion, at her worst (best?) fears being confirmed, Vert froze. For the first time since this whole episode had begun, she was completely and utterly caught off guard, even more than when Ram had got her in such a way earlier... Not to mention she was without any responses.

Blanc's room?

_Her girlfriend's_ room?

She... She hadn't been in _that_ room in over a year — or more precisely, other that brief moments to greet or snatch Blanc away, the last time she had been in Blanc's room for any extended period of time was before her and Blanc had gotten in a relationship.

Could... Could she do it?

"L-Let's change, first! We can't go to bed in these clothes!" Vert found herself spluttering this sort of excuse out before she knew it — but it was ultimately simply a ploy for time. Once they all changed, they would be coming right back here. She wasn't about to not read to the twins after everything that had happened tonight, which meant one way or the other... This was inevitable. "W-We can, uhm, we can come right back after a quick pit stop to your room. Okay?"

"Ooookaaaaaay..."

Hopefully the few minutes it took changing with the two CPU Candidates would be all she needed to mentally prepare herself...!

Surely, the few minutes it took changing with the CPU Candidates would be all she could _possibly_ need to mentally prepare herself for this...!

* * *

><p>Vert swallowed.<p>

The door looked back at her.

It was here to take revenge for the marshmallows. The ones that had mocked her. The ones that she had in turn swallowed with all too much gusto.

This door was out for vengeance.

Unaware of the devious plot of the devilish door before them, the two girls at the CPU's side waited patiently, expectantly, eagerly awaiting a story from Vert.

It was a rather funny story.

Hilarious, even.

A regular laugh out loud, slap your knees _riot_.

As it turned out?

The few minutes it took changing with the CPU Candidates _wasn't_ all she needed to mentally prepare herself.

It seemed like only a moment ago she had suggested changing, but here they were, back in front of Blanc's bedroom door once again.

"What's going on? Come on..." Oh, there was Ram — all dolled up in her pajamas that matched Rom's. As adorable as that was, the door would not let Vert enjoy it. No it would not. That darn door! The impatience in Ram's voice did not go unnoticed by Vert, and even Rom, sleepy as she was, was giving off a feeling of anticipation from Vert's other side. There... There really was no going back now, was there? Not that there needed to be... I-It was just a room, that's all! Nothing strange about a room or sleeping in a room or sleeping in a room where Blanc changed her clothes or sleeping in a room where Blanc changed her clothes and laid in bed or- "That's it, I'm doing it! Come on Rom, she can get dragged if she wants."

Oh.

So this was how this was going to go.

Now they were going inside.

She followed after the CPU Candidates — it wasn't like she really had much choice here, what with her holding on to both of them (or were they holding onto her now? she wasn't sure which would be more accurate at this point...) — and just like that, they were inside Blanc's room. It looked just like it had the last time Vert had been in here. It had only been a few weeks ago, when she'd come to fetch Blanc for a quest they had planned on doing together. Blanc had _been there_ that time, of course. It hadn't been in the mid of night, with such... intentions like it was now.

Or so Vert thought.

The reality of the situation was actually a bit anti-climactic, in hindsight. There were no belly dancing White Hearts leaping out to greet her, no alarms going off to chase her away for treading on holy Lowee ground while its sacred leader was away, no... nothing. It was just a room. A room with a bed that happened to be the bed her girlfriend slept in every night. A room that Vert had actually seen plenty of times before. For all the buildup Vert had been putting on it... It was the same room. That was all it was. It wasn't _that_ big a deal.

Perhaps Vert's expectations had been a little off...?

"Come on, come on, let's lie down!"

"I want to hear the story..."

With the twins now pulling Vert towards the bed, seemingly unaware of her hesitations, her heart skipped a beat. Maybe her expectations weren't _that_ off after all...? One could hope they would prove to be soon enough.

As she was forced in the middle of the bed by two girls who seemed to have become much more attentive at the prospect of a story than they had been earlier, it finally occurred to Vert. Amidst all of her thoughts of just being in Blanc's room in this situation... With a twin settling down on either side of her now, Rom even going as far as to pull the covers up above the three of them...

"Wait, you want me here too? I thought... Aren't I supposed to be just...?" Was she... going to get to _cuddle_ with the twins...?! She had skipped right from tucking in and leaped straight towards joining the family! She must have done a better job with the two of them than she had thought — that, or maybe Blanc had been doing such an adorably terrible job reading to them that it had gotten to the point that they would go this far for their story? "How can I tuck you in if you've brought me into bed with you?"

Rom seemed uninterested in semantics like that — semantics that happened to be fairly important to Vert at the moment, thank you very much! — but she paid them no mind as she sidled on up next to Vert, latching onto one of the blonde's arms and tugging it around her neck, turning the goddess of an entire nation into little more than a child's means of comfort.

"There. I tucked us in for you... So, um..." The girl trailed off, a yawn cutting her off. Vert found herself smiling despite the ridiculous situation she had found herself in now. It seemed that the bed was having its way with her after all, even though she'd seemed so much more peppy just a few minutes ago. These two girls really were something special, weren't they?

"Start the story!" Luckily for Rom, Ram was there to finish her sister's thought, and she too had gotten herself nice and comfortable next to Vert — albeit not as much as Rom was... but it was evident that it was only a matter of time before the tired girl latched onto Vert as well. With her eyes darting back and forth like that, it was obvious that the idea was at the forefront of her thoughts, if nothing else.

Seeing this, Vert couldn't do anything but grin. At last, she gave in. Did it really matter what bed or room it was? This was such a wonderful moment, perhaps one that was irreplaceable — why ruin it wondering about things that didn't matter? She was sure Blanc wouldn't mind, and getting to be with the twins like this? Well, no need to say it, but _she_ certainly didn't mind.

"My, you two are in _quite_ a rush, now aren't you? Very well then." Closing her eyes, Vert cleared her throat and began her tale. It would be a special one — one that hopefully the girls would not quite soon forget... largely because, well, they were front and center in it! "Once upon a time, there were two queens... A green queen and a white queen. The white queen had two wonderful, _wonderful_ younger twin sisters, but the jealous green queen had none at all, so she devised a plan to..."

Without a pause or page break in sight, she told the twins the story of Blanc, the queen of the land of white, and Vert, the queen of the land of green. Naturally, Vert left the names out, but she had a pretty good feeling the two knew. It wasn't as though she was hiding the inspiration for her tale. There were certain real life "good parts" she made sure to leave out from her version of things, but as far as the story the twins were getting to hear, every "good part" was told without any hesitation (much to Vert's delight when Ram made a face the first time and Rom, who she had been sure was fast asleep, sleepily declared it to be cute).

At some point, Vert forgot where she was or how she had gotten there. The only thing that mattered to her were the two girls in bed with her and making sure they made their trips to dreamland as peacefully and happily as possible.

In the back of her mind, she couldn't help but wonder...

Was this... what having sisters of her own might have felt like...?

Would... Blanc be okay with the idea of this happening again...?

"... and the queen of the land of the green took the white queen's sisters onto her magical ship and flew them back home, where they all lived happily ever after." Satisfied with how she had wrapped things up, the blonde storyteller closed her eyes and sighed to herself, a strange, warm feeling stirring inside of her. In the brief silence she had given the room now that she had stopped speaking, she could hear the sounds of breathing. Steady, peaceful breathing. The quiet breathing of twins who had drifted off to sleep some time ago, but twins who were going to hear a whole story whether they were awake for it or not. "The end."

Opening her eyes, Vert smiled warmly at the two girls sleeping soundly on either side of her. They were holding onto her like they might a teddy bear... Or maybe like they might their sister, were she the one in this position?

Vert supposed she couldn't know. Whatever the case was, the sight simply overwhelmed her, filled her to the brim with emotion. Maybe she would be able find out for herself once Blanc returned...? She'd like that. She'd like that very much — though that would mean her chances of getting to experience this again would be slim to none... Oh well. That was a conversation for another day. For this day, this evening, all that mattered was right now.

"Yes... This was... nice." Letting out a yawn of her own as she finally let her own sleepiness wash over her now that her charges had, at long last, fallen to sleep, the CPU looked over the two girls one more time before closing her eyes to settle down and go to sleep herself.

The two of them had really had nothing to worry about all along, honestly...

If it had happened to _anyone_ in this Basilicom, anyone at all, it most certainly wasn't Blanc or Rom or even Ram getting "taken away."

It was Vert.

And she was more than happy to see just where these three sisters planned on "taking" her.

_The End_


	7. An Emotional Epilogue

Blanc got home much later than she had ever expected to. The idea that she would ever find herself out past the twins' bedtime had never even occurred to her, but here she was. She had been shopping for hours, and then hours still after that — perhaps more than she ever had in all of her life combined. She had even had to plead in a manner most unfitting of a goddess for some of the shopkeepers to stay open just a _little_ bit longer so she could finish. It had been worth it, though. Boy had it been worth it. She had gotten something that she was absolutely _positive_ would make Vert glow and shine as much as the thought of Vert's reaction made _her_ glow and shine inside — and she hated herself _so damn much_ for having turned into such a sap (or worse... such a _Noire_!), but darn it all, she was really looking forward to seeing Vert's face when she opened it in a few days.

Right now, she wasn't as concerned with that. That _was_ still a few days away, after all. Right now, she was just looking forward to seeing Vert. She was still cold from having spent so much time outside — so, _so _cold — and she just wanted to find Vert. Vert would make it better. She'd _make_ Vert make it better. For the first time since Blanc had known her, she was actually thankful for the... differences between them. Vert would surely make for a decent heater. Blanc would _make_ Vert be a decent heater. That was what she'd been thinking, alongside her mantra of "I am not a tsundere I am not a tsundere I am not a tsundere _I am not a tsundere..._", anyway.

Well... She _had_ been thinking all of that, at least. She had been thinking it when she'd entered her Basilicom. She knew it was late, sure, but Vert was probably up somewhere on a game, right? That was what Vert did. What else would Vert be doing in the middle of the night? Blanc just had to look around, find her, and maybe guilt her into a back rub under the covers. Nothing to it.

When Blanc _found_ Vert, as it turned out, she found herself regretting some things.

There wasn't a game on in sight. Much to Blanc's surprise, the blonde goddess was sleeping soundly. She was also sleeping soundly in a place _other_ than in the guest room that Blanc had prepared for her. This meant that, among other things, Vert hadn't listened to her, even though Blanc had painstakingly gone through every single room in the Basilicom to make sure Vert got a nice one — a fact Vert would never ever know because letting people know embarrassing crap like that was, duh, _embarrassing_ — but now that effort had been completely wasted.

So, to start off the list of wrongdoings done wrong by the Princess of Wrongness, Green Heart... She had screwed up by being asleep when Blanc wanted to see her. She had failed in her duties. It wasn't like Blanc _needed_ to see her or anything, it was Vert's fault here. Clearly. Vert had also screwed up by not listening to her. She'd not listened to her _specifically_ by sleeping somewhere other than where Blanc had prepared for her, in turn making Blanc feel like a regular old moron for having wasted all the time she had picking out the perfect room and getting it fixed up for Vert and making sure she had an internet connection and...

But wait! There's more!

_Where_ was Vert sleeping? Where oh _where_ had she chosen to go, instead of where Blanc had picked out for her?

Why, in Blanc's own room.

In Blanc's _bed_.

And, oh yes, it got _worse_.

In Vert's arms, held protectively on either side and both cuddling this new "hug pillow" like it was the most natural thing in the world, were Blanc's sisters, sleeping as peacefully as she had ever seen them sleep in her entire life.

Her younger sisters were sleeping with Vert.

Vert was sleeping with her younger sisters.

All of this was happening _in her bed_.

A little over a year ago, any one of these things would have had Blanc transforming into White Heart and chasing Vert out of the room, nay, out of the Basilicom itself and straight into the cold faster than Planeptune's mascot could ever hope to move. A little over a year ago, any one of these things would have had Blanc screaming at the top of her lungs and threatening to declare war on Leanbox if Vert wasn't out of the country within five minutes. A little over a year ago, she would have regretted trusting Vert with anything as major as watching after her sisters. Likewise, a little over a year ago, she would have regretted letting her sisters anywhere _near_ Vert.

As of this moment, however...

"Shit."

Her face was burning. She didn't need to look in a mirror to know she looked like a miserable little sap, blushing like a hopelessly starstruck schoolgirl. She could feel her cheeks being tugged in an unnatural (for her) expression, and there was something caught in her throat. Worse still, her eyes were starting to tear up. What the hell had happened to her?

"_Shit_..."

The thing was... She actually didn't regret any of that stuff. Not at all. She didn't regret a single one of those things like she would have back then.

She regretted taking so long.

She regretted deciding partway through to get the twins their Pongsmas presents so she wouldn't have to make a second trip.

She regretted not buying all of it online.

She regretted spending more time in the stores than with the three girls in the bed before her.

But most of all, she regretted not having been here to see what had led to this... _sight_, if a commonplace word like that was worthy of being used to describe the rush of overwhelming feelings it was bringing out of the CPU.

And again... She couldn't _believe_ she'd wasted so much time shopping.

Because now, even if Vert got her something trivial later on? The present she had spent _hours_ picking out couldn't even possibly begin to compare to getting to see the three of them like this. It was no contest.

"Yeah... I can't keep denying it. I really _am_ possessed, aren't I?"

And yet... The strangest thing was, that didn't even bother her. It should have, but it didn't. The cold had stopped bothering her too. If anything... she actually felt rather...

The CPU smiled ruefully at the three girls on her bed, filled from top to bottom with an all too familiar feeling. It was the feeling that had kept her going all night — the loving feeling that she hoped would continue to keep her going for the rest of her life as well. It was a comfy, cozy sort of feeling. A feeling that would always stop her from feeling affronted by the cool air or the chilly gusts of wind of these crisp winters. It was a feeling that felt a lot like...

_Warmth _


End file.
